conbo61

Me thinks it would not have been the catcher's first ejection.

The line up card is one of the most underrated tools an umpire has.

Leave my personal life out of this...

Perhaps a pre-emptive reciprocation is in order.

https://www.ump-attire.com/Products/A038P/Champro-4-Dial-Optic-Yellow-Steel-Umpire-Indicator-3-2-2-Count Found the optic yellow easier to see in all conditions. Used to have the plastic model, but the recess made the numbers difficult to see at night.

I can't think of a better description of the "progress curve" for this vocation. I also think that between the "Peak of Mount Stupid" and "Valley of Despair" is where we lose a lot of officials. Only through patience, perseverance and recognizing that we need to improve do we have the opportunity to traverse the "Slope of Enlightenment." Only to max out at "Sucking Less." Why do we do this again? Oh yeah. For the kids.

Just took my pair to the dry cleaners to be hemmed. It almost seemed as if the taper continued all the way through the excess material. I wear mid-cut base shoes and it did seem as if they may be a bit snug over the shoe. It is cold here and there was static making the pants stick to my legs. I wear UA leggings so that should not be an issue in the colder months. No issues with the coloring. Will update after I pick them up.

Limeport Stadium. Has a "Field of Dreams" vibe with the cornfield behind the LF fence. Bushes in CF are in play and over 400' away. 485' to the CF fence. As you can see, CF slopes UP to reach the bushes.

Whoa... "Kinney Shoes salesman"

Pretty cool. ESPN has an "UmpCast" edition of the LSU/Wake game. Every pitch is shown via umpcam. Did they do this for any other games so far?

Holy crud. Your time at TUS was EIGHT years ago already?!?!?! I remember following your daily posts here while you were there. Getting old...

I find the Prep Baseball Guide to be very good. The Pitchers publication was very good as well as the base awards. I wish they provided more flexibility in the Training Package. The mechanics manual has not really changed in several years. Maybe they could adjust it to two standard publications (Prep Annual and Preseason Guide) and allow officials to pick three other publications from a select group.

Question for discussion. Would the ORDER of appeal have any bearing? In other words, if F5 picked up the ball and touched 3B declaring he was appealing that the R3 left early, then the 4th out situation is irrelevant. Correct?

Its not the pitchers you have to worry about at the lower levels as much as it is the catchers. All it takes is one stray pitch/foul ball and you have a broken toe and you are out of commission for several weeks. That results in lost games--> lost game fees -> hampers your ability to spring for the plate shoes you really want. Just like any "workout," the more you work games in the plate shoes, the easier it will become. If you go from a 9U (sneakers) to a 13/14U (plate shoes) the plate shoes will feel that much heavier. My $0.02? Don't stop wearing them. Your muscles will adapt.